Out of My League?
by Tiggerbelle
Summary: Lily is the most popular girl in Hogwarts and James is just a normal guy. James is head-over-heals in love with Lily, but she doesn't seem to give him a second look. Is James really out of her league like evryone says, or can he win over the girl...
1. Chapter 1

**Out of My League**

**_Heya!_**

**_I had already has this posted but it got deleted. Annoying i know! but now its back and please read enjoy and review._**

**_Thanks to jay for being my fab beta!_**

**_Tiggerbelle x-x-x_**

**_oh, and i don't own anything you recognise from the hp books - all jk's._**

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**Chapter 1**

A young boy of 11 years old with messy black hair and glasses was walking with his parents either side of him through Kings Cross Station. It was 10.40am and he still had 20 minutes before the train left, but he was determined not to miss it. He had been dreaming of this day since he was only six.

"Come on mum! Hurry up!" the boy whined to his mother. "I'm going to miss the train!"

"You still have 20 minutes James, calm down, you're not going to miss it," James's father said to him in his deep voice. He was tall and broad with hair just like James's – dark and messy.

They reached the platform nine and ten and stood in between the barrier separating them. James held the trolley that carried his trunk and a cage with a tawny owl in, and looked determinedly at the wall.

"You remember what we told you? Just look straight at the wall, and run directly through it," James mother said in a soft voice. She had mid-length wavy hair and looked incredibly glamorous, with no effort at all.

Doing as he was told, James closed his eyes and ran straight through the wall. When he realised that he never crashed, he opened his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. His eyes immediately searched the magical place.

In front of him was a huge magnificent scarlet steam engine. His parent came through the barrier and stood beside him, grins on their faces as they watched their son's beaming expression.

"Wow! This is amazing!" James awed as he looked up and down the train.

"Have fun, James. These should be the best years of your life. You spend nearly 10 months a year here, make the most of it," James's father said in his ear, bending down giving his son a one armed hug.

James looked up at his mother and saw that she had tears in her eyes. The smile on her face seemed to brighten everything up though. _She's like an angel, my mum. _James thought to himself, smiling at his mother, giving her a hug.

"You have fun now, like your father said, these are and should be the best years of your life," she said, running her fingers through James's already messy hair. Slowly, she bent down and whispered something in James ear, "If you need to know how to get into the kitchens, or need any secret passageways, just owl me and your father. I think we may be able to help, but I dare say I know more than your father." She gave a little wink along with a kiss on the cheek and stood up, straightening her three quarter length coat innocently.

James stared open-mouthed at his mother, as she looked around harmlessly, smiling at some of the parents of other students that she knew.

"I guess you better be going now, you've got ten minutes left and all those compartments are going to be taken," James father said.

"Bye my sweetheart, I'll miss you so much. Owl your father and me, and don't forget about your brother and sister! They miss you already!" James mother said tearfully, taking her son in a tight hug.

James had a younger brother and sister – they were both twins. Their names were Harry and Suzie and are 7 years old.

"Mum, I won't forget them, you know I won't!" James replied, rolling his eyes in the process.

"Oh, I know you won't, but you're hardly ever going to see them!" his mother exclaimed.

"They'll be there in my 5th year of Hogwarts, so I'll be with them for two whole years, Mum!"

"That is if you don't get expelled by then, like your mother nearly did," James's father muttered under his breath.

"What utter rubbish!" James's mother exclaimed as two pink spots quickly appeared on her cheeks.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that then. I'll miss you all loads! Bye Mum! Bye Dad!" James shouted out as he reached the train, heaving his trunk up with his owl on top.

"Bye Jamesy!" his mother shouted out, reaching for her hanky.

"Mum!" James cried out, going red himself.

"Goodbye son!"

"Bye, Dad!"

And from there, James disappeared down the train, giving one last wave at his parents till he next saw them in the holidays.

James struggled with his trunk down the corridors, and collapsed into the first free compartment he found. He looked around and put his luggage away, getting a few books out in the process. _Don't I know anybody? _James thought to himself. He sat down and looked out the window. His parents were standing on the platform with someone other people. _I recognise them. I'm sure they have a son my age…_A thought triggered inside his head. They were the Lupins. Their son was Remus Lupin. If only he remembered what Remus looked like…

The train started to go and James quickly opened the window of the compartment and waved out to his parents. Going round a corner, James came back in and closed the window, his hair extremely wind swept. As he ran his fingers through his hair, a boy his age and height came in. He had light brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hi, I'm Remus Lupin. Do you mind me sitting here?" He asked timidly.

A smile appeared on James' face. "Of course not! I think we may have met before. I'm James Potter."

Remus had a cheeky grin identical to James's and the two boys recognised each other immediately.

"That's right. Our parents are friends, we came round for drinks and dinner a few times." Remus replied.

_I have an actual friend here now! I'm not going to be a loner! _James thought to himself. "Do you know anyone else here?"

"I don't know anyone, apart from you that is. What about you, do you know anyone?" Remus asked, his voice slightly hopeful.

"Nope, I'm afraid we're on the same page," James said sadly.

"Do you have any idea what house you're going to be sorted into? I want to be in Gryffindor. Potters are always in Gryffindor I heard!"

A small smile appeared on James face. He was proud of the fact that every Potter was a Gryffindor and they all succeeded in Quidditch. He only hoped he could match up…

"You're right there, every single one of them made it into Gryffindor. Let's hope we can make it there too. I'll probably kill myself if I get into Slytherin!" James replied. Every person that had been sorted into Slytherin had gone to the dark side.

"Trust me mate, I'll do the same!" Remus stated.

"And me! I hate Slytherin!" a new voice announced from the doorway of the carriage.

The two boys looked at each other, smiles growing on their faces, and turned to face the boy standing in the door way.

"Hi, I'm James Potter, and this is my friend Remus Lupin."

"I'm Sirius Black," the new boy added. He had dark shaggy hair and grey eyes. He watched the expressions on the boys' faces change from once happy and smiley to cautious and uncertain.

"Black? But you said you hate Slytherins…" Remus asked; confused and nervous. The Black family were famous for their support in the Dark Arts; every member had been in Slytherin. The Potters and Blacks were the complete opposite - the Potters spent their time trying to defeat the Dark side…they were not families to mix.

"I do. Nasty piece of filth they are. Every single one of them." Sirius spat the words out as if they were venom.

"Isn't your family all Slytherin though?" Remus asked once again. James just sat in his seat, assessing the person in front of him.

"Yep! Hate them all!" Sirius replied, his voice happy and cheerful, a small smile appearing on his face. James was getting slightly confused with the character in front of him – he couldn't seem to work him out.

"And you say this freely? Aren't you worried your family are going to get cross or something?" James spoke up, clearly perplexed.

"I hate them and they hate me – to me it's a win-win situation," Sirius replied, as though it was obvious.

"Uhh…Ok then! Sit down, make yourself at home!" Remus said, helping him with his trunk. James carried on sitting there, thinking as to what his father had told him about the Blacks…can they really not be trusted?

By the time the food trolley came, James had learnt one thing about Sirius Black – he was a friend he would hate to lose! The three of them laughed, talked, joked and played exploding snap and wizard chess. James felt as though he had the best time of his life. They had also met a new friend called Peter Pettigrew. He was quiet and constantly stuttering, but the trio were more than happy to make a new friend.

The quartet helped themselves to tons of food from the trolley. James was shocked to see how much food Sirius could eat – most of the compartment was taken up with wrappers!

"We really need to find the kitchens when we get to Hogwarts. I wonder where they would be hidden," Sirius told the gang.

"My mum would know. She said just to owl her and ask for any secret passage ways, or how to get into the kitchens," James replied absent-mindedly, as he tucked into a chocolate frog.

Sirius stared open mouthed at James. "Your mum is the best mum in the ENTIRE WORLD! Where's the parchment? Peter, get me a quill," Sirius exclaimed, writing a note to Mrs Potter.

"Dear Mrs. Potter…" Sirius recited. "I hope you are having a nice day, and all is well. – You can't rush a letter, or they'll get suspicious," Sirius told the group, "We were just wondering where the kitchen to Hogwarts is, and James mentioned you may be of help. Thank you ever so much. Yours truly, James's friends (and James)," Sirius finished. "See? I can be incredibly formal when it comes to writing letters. Now, everyone sign their name underneath what I have written." All did as they were told. James noticed that Sirius didn't put his last name like everyone else. He didn't of course – the letter was addressed to _his _mum, but was Sirius _that _bothered about the reputation the Black family had made?

James watched as Sirius tied the parchment to his tawny owl he borrowed and let it fly through the window Remus had opened.

"Your mum is seriously the coolest mum there is. I mean like how many mums _offer _to tell their sons where the secret passageways of Hogwarts are? Not many, I'm telling you that now," Sirius said, as he answered his own question.

James just smiled and nodded along. He loved his mum – she wasn't like every other mum, she was the best anyone could have. He wouldn't know what he would do if he lost her. He and his dad would probably fall apart, not to mention the twins. James pushed the depressing thought of his head, and turned back to the new conversation Sirius and Remus were talking about, with Peter nodding along like some odd wind-up muggle toy in the background.

The quartet walked into the Great Hall with the rest of the many first years for the Sorting, being amazed by the size and wonder of it all. A tatty old hat greeted them as they passed the house tables. A tight-lipped professor called Professor McGonagall called everyone up alphabetically to sit on the stool and place the hat on their heads, ready to be sorted.

"If they put me in Slytherin, I'll leave!" Sirius stated simply.

Not too soon it was Sirius' turn.

"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall called out.

Sirius gulped and walked up to the stool, putting the hat on.

_Ah, a Black I see. You shan't be too hard to Sort! _the hat said to Sirius. "I am NOT going into Slytherin!" Sirius hissed back. _Not in Slytherin, eh? That's a first coming from a Black! You would do well in Slytherin, bravery, pride, and lots of talent…_More opposes came from Sirius' direction…_well, it better be _GRYFFINDOR!

Many of the school were shocked to hear that a Black was put in Gryffindor – especially the Slytherins.

James cheered along with them then carried on watching the Sorting.

"Evans, Lily!"

James turned to see a long redheaded girl walk up to the hat. As she turned, James caught a glimpse of her beautiful green eyes. The world seemed to go in slow motion for a second. Her red silky hair swayed with her walk, and James couldn't take his eyes off her.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called out, and James seemed to have an even bigger urge to get into that house.

Remus and Peter went ahead and both got sorted into Gryffindor. Now it was James' turn.

Slowly, James walked up to hat and placed it on top of his head.

_Potter! Another one! What to do with you, eh? "_Gryffindor, Gryffindor," James said under his breath, closing his eyes with hope. _Gryffindor, eh? I suppose you do have the qualities for it... but you'll do so well in Slytherin, yes, I can see it all here. Urge to prove yourself, plenty of talent and power…. No? Then it will have to be _GRYFFINDOR!

James smiled so wide that it reached his eyes. _I made it! I got into Gryffindor!_ He hopped off the stool and met his friends at the table and they all sat together. Opposite him was Lily Evans. To James she looked even more beautiful up close. She was amongst a crowd of people, being the main attraction – James could see they were going to be the popular group. The boys were pushing each other around trying to get closer to her, while Lily laughed along with the girls. She was helping herself to the potatoes when she caught James staring at her. She looked right into his eyes and gave a little smile in his direction as she blushed a bright red, and turned back to her friends.

Through out the feast James had a great time joking along with his friends and being amazed by the amounts of food that constantly came upon the table. His favourite part, however, were the hidden smiles and grins that were given to him by a certain redhead.

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**_Hi! thanks for readingnow please review and tell me whatyou think!_**

**_and as you're here, please check out my other storis - wish upon a star and the true love calling._**

**_Your one and only,_**

**_Tiggerbelle_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Out of My League**

**Chapter 2**

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter collapsed onto their beds in their dormitory of 3 years. They just had the start of term feast and were looking forward to a 4th year of pranking, rule breaking and the secret outings they made every so often late at night. They famously named themselves 'The Marauders'.

James, on the other hand, had another reason to go back to school that year, and that was to finally convince Lily that he was the boy for her. Ever since he first laid his eyes on her, he had fallen for her charm. He loved the way she smiled, the way she laughed, just everything about her. He remembers the first time they locked eyes - her blushing cheeks and those phenomenal emerald eyes sparkling back at him.

It took him a whole year to figure out why she avoided him in public (even though he still doesn't really understand why) and never seemed interested in him and even to this day, he is given mixed signals. Back in first year, they were having their very first lesson - James remembered the event so clearly, as though it was just yesterday.

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_James walked nervously into his first ever lesson in Hogwarts. He and Sirius shuffled past the other pupils and sat in two spare seats near the back of the classroom. They both turned behind them, expecting to see Remus and Peter steal the other spare seats, but instead of looking into a pair of oval blue eyes, he look into two large round almond shaped green ones._

_Immediately, his jaw dropped and his eyes went soft. He knew just who those eyes belonged to – he remembered avidly last night, when he was sure he met the girl of his dreams. Well, not exactly met, but saw._

_Without warning, Sirius gave an almighty nudge into James's ribs. He was so shocked by it that he almost stumbled off his chair. His ears perked at the sound of giggles. Looking up, he looked right into the eyes of Lily Evans once more. _

"_Hi…I'm James Potter," James began shakily to Lily._

_Lily smiled and replied, "Lily Evans" _

_The two goggled at each other for what seemed like ages, until their new professor rudely interrupted them._

"_Hello class, I am your transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall," a tight-lipped, middle-aged woman sternly announced._

_James found that he thoroughly enjoyed this lesson, and couldn't wait to transfigure something more than a pin…human transfiguration sounded like something he couldn't wait to master._

_He collected his books and roughly stuffed them in his bag, as he wanted to find the next lesson quickly. He waited for Sirius to do the same and together they waited for Remus and Peter. They all walked out of the classroom, talking enthusiastically about their first lesson._

"_That was bloody brilliant!" Sirius said in awe. "I mean, I live around magic like all the time, but doing magic yourself…" his voice trailed off as he thought back over the lesson, a smile upon his lips. _

_James walked past the group Lily was in and gave her a brief smile. She smiled back when she received a nudge in the ribs and a cautioned look. Her smile faded as she looked at the girl. She was tall for her age, long blond hair, a pointy nose that undoubtedly stuck up, and a pair of cold icy blue eyes. She looked like a tart and didn't withhold a friendly beauty. She wasn't ugly, you couldn't deny that, but there wasn't a pleasant feeling you received when around her. _

_Lily nodded slowly and looked back to the ground and eventually turning to the rest of the group as though nothing had happened. She was naturally the centre of attention. Every boy loved her whilst every girl wanted to be her. James looked on confusedly. Probably wasn't anything, he wondered, and carried on walking, hopeful that they were going in the right direction towards Herbology…

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James sighed and threw his head back onto his pillow. He could feel the stares of his fellow Marauders on him, and closed the curtains. He knew what they were all thinking.

"Come on James, open the curtains. It's only the first night back and you're in depression again." _That is sooo not true, well, kind of..._ James thought to himself. _I mean, I get upset a bit, but not depressed. _

"Sirius, I am _not _in depression. I'm just tired," James replied irritably.

"Is it because of Lily's new boyfriend?" Peter said, thinking he just won the Nobel Prize.

Sirius nudged Peter so hard in the ribs that he went flying backwards. Remus's jaw dropped and Sirius looked back at the lump on the floor and shrugged.

James suddenly stood up shouting; "WHAT? SHE HAS A BOYFRIEND? WHO?"

Whilst Remus went and helped Peter up with a pitiful look on his face, Sirius went and sat beside James on the bed.

"Look mate, you gotta get over her. She's the most popular girl in Hogwarts with a boyfriend who's two years older than us and is starting 5th year. I mean we're not exactly popular are we? You know she's only ever gone out with _those_ type guys, and only ever will," Sirius concluded, hope evident in his voice. This wasn't the first talk he'd had with James about this girl.

"Are you telling me, that we are DORKS!" James blared out.

Sirius's jaw dropped and replied, "You have got to be bloody kidding me! I, Sirius Black, am and never will be a DORK!" he said it loud and proud with dignity in his voice.

"Thank God, because if _we're _dorks, what would Alex Hitchcock be?" Remus stated dryly. A roar of laughter exploded in the dorm. Alex Hitchcock was _the _most dorkiest, geekiest one of them all.

After getting over the fits of laughter, Sirius resumed. "Look, we're not dorks, but we're not popular. We're well known because of our famous association known as the Marauders that James thought up oh so brilliantly in the middle of 1st Year, but we just don't make the cut. I hate to say this James, you know I do, but she's just out of your league, she's out of any of our leagues," he concluded grimly.

James's head went spiraling. _Is she really out of my league? Am I not good enough for her? _Two little self-conscious Jameses popped up on his shoulders. On the left was deviling, naughty James, and on the right was happy, angel James.

'_Of course she's out of your league mate! She's pretty and hot and you're a four-eyed freak! Come one, like she'll fall for you!' _a sneer hissed into his ear.

'_You don't know that! You never know what could be happening inside her head! Never judge a book by its cover James! You should know that by now…' _a gentle, knowing voice butted in. _"And besides, if she's out of his league, that means she's out of YOUR league you prat!" _little James rolled his eyes at the naughty devil James.

James shook his head in confusion. Both sides make sense, but the one he hated most seemed to be more realistic to him at that moment.

"I think I'll be going to bed now," James announced to the dorm, "I'll see you in the morning, g'night." Slowly James trooped back to his trunk and got ready for a restless night's sleep. _Perfect way to start the term._ James thought bitterly to himself.

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**LILY'S POV**

Lily stood outside the portrait hole, waiting for all her friends to bustle into the common room. She turned back to the reason of her stay and smiled happily. Fortunately, Ryan Decarter didn't see the confusion and nervousness included in that smile.

Lily had started dating Ryan during the summer, but truth was, was that she was incredibly nervous about dating him. He was two years older than her, he would have a lot more experience than her in the whole dating category, and she was afraid of another thought crossing his mind that she _knew _she didn't want happening at her age.

One of the main reasons to saying yes to him was the pressure of all her friends. She was afraid that people would think she was mad for saying no to him, and she'd loose all her friends. At least he was nice, sweet, and amazingly good-looking. He was tall with dark hair, amazing blue eyes and had a great body.

"I'm so glad you're my girlfriend, Lily," Ryan gushed.

"I'm…uh…so glad you're my boyfriend, Ryan," Lily replied uncertainly.

He wrapped his toned arms round Lily and gave her a kiss goodbye on the cheek.

"See you in the morning, Lily," He said as he started to move down the corridor towards the Hufflepuff common room.

"Yeah, see you in the morning," Lily said deflated. How she was going to break up with him was a problem, which would be on her mind for quite a while she figured.

When she reached her dorm, all the girls started swarming around her.

"Oh my god! You're sooo lucky to be going out with him!" one girl said. Lily looked one around the common room at all the other girls. So many voices were thrown at her. Blocking them all out she mumbled to no one in particular that she was going to bed and headed up the stairs to her dorm.

When she reached her dorm she looked around with fondness. She loved Hogwarts; it was her favourite place to be. As she opened her trunk and pulled on her pyjamas she thought about her past two years there and how quickly it had all gone. She remembered her very first day. Unexpectedly thoughts rushed back to James Potter. Lily liked him from the very first day she laid eyes on him, but she'd been warned not to go near him. She thought he was gorgeous and knew that he was incredibly nice, but ever since Mandy told her how it may jeopardize her popularity she'd backed off.

Back at her old school in the muggle world, Lily was never popular but always wanted to be. Now she had that, she didn't want to put anything at risk, even if it was only a boy. However, as she was climbing into bed something told her that that wasn't entirely true…

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**Hey all!**

**Thanks for reading and please review and tell me what you think :D**

**Thanks to Jay who is my wonderful beta P**

**Your one and only,**

**Jenny xxxx**


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